Posted on 09/30/2007 4:49:59 PM PDT by Roberts
NEW YORK (AP) - A traveler who may have accidentally choked herself to death while handcuffed in an airport holding cell was a "wonderful" woman and mother, according to New York City's public advocate, who is her relative.
Carol Anne Gotbaum, 45, was arrested Friday at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix after she became irate when gate crews refused to let her board a flight for which she was late, officials said.
"She was a wonderful mother; she was sweet and kind and loving," said public advocate Betsy Gotbaum, the woman's stepmother-in-law. "It's obviously very, very difficult for us; we are dealing with it as best we can. My No. 1 focus is those children and my stepson."
She also pleaded with the press for privacy.
The events that led to Gotbaum's death began when she became irate over not being allowed on a US Airways flight, though she was rebooked on a later flight, officials said.
Officers handcuffed her and took her to the holding room, where she kept screaming, authorities said. They checked on her when she became quiet and found her unresponsive, said Phoenix police Sgt. Andy Hill.
It appears Gotbaum may have tried to get out of her handcuffs, which ended up around her neck, Hill said. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Neither a stun gun nor pepper spray was used on the woman, authorities said.
The New York City public advocate helps solve residents' problems with government and acts as a watchdog over city agencies.
sniff, sniff...something doesn’t smell right here....I have $100 that says the handcuffs were not a direct factor in her death...
This is a joke, right?
My ex-wife was, and is, a good example of a woman in hysterics. That's why I'm happily divorced right now.
Woman who is not hysterical = Man bites dog.
Very good analogy!
Conditioning.
It is not a joke and it is obvious you have not, so go to the back of the class.
Which means she knows her stepdaughter-in-law was a wackjob who went nuts and did this to herself. If the police were in any way at fault, you can bet that Betsy Gotbaum would be going ballistic. After all she has a history as a far-leftwing civil rights agitator.
My guess is that this eposide was a combination of two things: antidepressants (or the delayed dosing of) and hunger.
I think it is a case of BDS. Bush Derangement Syndrome.
The family has given a ton of dough to Democratic candidates, no one could explain why she was heading to Tucson (mecca of liberal idiocy), she was screaming she wasnt a terrorist (mind you, she passed through TSA already....she just went bananas in the gate area)
Anyone one with common sense can change hands behind back to front. By setting down as you put your wrist below your rump, then bend forward and bring them under your feet. Simple!
It looks like we were both right. She was on her way to alcohol rehab. Although why her family let her take the trip by herself is a mystery to me. The family obviously knew she was out of control, but an escort would have been prudent (well, hindsight says so)
It sounds like her family are a lot like the Kennedys. They care about the poor and downtrodden of the world- but only in a general sense. When it comes to real, live people you can actually reach out and touch, they’re unable to translate their so-called good intentions into honest to goodness human interaction.
I too cannot understand why Mrs. Gotbaum did not have an escort.
It looks like the Gotbaum family hasn’t wasted any time getting an attorney and will probably be collecting a huge settlement off of this poor woman’s death.
well,as it turns out betsy gotbaum is her mother in law and is her husband’s stepmother-her family is south african where her father is a retired naval officer-so in this case you came to a conclusion a little too fast-maybe the apple didn’t fall far from the tree,and the drunkeness is from her family,or maybe not-many character flaws are not inherited-i had a cousin who was a drug addict and career criminal and no one else-not his parents,brother or daughters ever exhibited any antisocial behavior,let alone getting arrested
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